Today began with a few weary eyes from a late night of watching the world cup final, yet a tad bit of excitement was in the air as we started our last full day of building!  It’s been encouraging to see the walls of the house coming up increasingly quickly, and with the addition of two extra team members the progress has been even greater.  It’s really easy to visualize 8 beautiful children living in the house now, and it’s been an antidote for aching muscles as we build.

On Friday night we were joined by Lucky and Juan, who came straight from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for HopeBuilders and the Village of Hope.  After hearing of the work of HopeBuilders, Lucky began a campaign to raise money and do what she could to support the programs in Uganda.  Together with Juan she conquered the summit despite altitude sickness and freezing conditions to raise a whopping $4,700 for the Village of Hope!  They have now joined the team for 5 days to experience what HopeBuilders do and to meet the kids that they have done so much for. 

Another morning in the hot sun consisted of building our muscles by throwing bricks in our now well-oiled brick chain, majenga making and climbing on African scaffolding to build the walls of the house.  As usual Stan and Sue slaved away welding to finish of frames and window frames.

Lunchtime was especially special today, as we shared in a pork lunch with the builders to celebrate Nicholas’ (one of the builders) 21^st birthday and spend some time with the guys.  It has been such an encouragement to grow relationships with the builders, and has been the highlight of building for myself and a lot of the team.  Just chatting and learning about their lives has been a real privilege, their joy and happiness each day is amazing to see.  They have so much less than us yet their vitality and love for life has been a blessing.

Tonight we tasted traditional posho for dinner for the first time, which is a major part of a Ugandan’s staple diet.  It’s a mashed potato look alike made from maize flour and water.  Paired with beans we can all officially claim to be Africans now.  It’s an early night for most, so that’s all for now.

Nat.  

Jen the builder.. can she fix it?

Getting into the pork!!!

Look how far we are!

After a pork lunch .. all of us..

   

Here is my blog.

Today is Sunday and like every Sunday, I slept in.

But we also went to church and spent the morning with mothers and kids from all over Jinja. Sunday is a day that never ceases to amaze me. Church in Uganda is extremely different to church in Australia and like every Reformed sermon, I have 3 points to explain why.

1.     People do not stop clapping and singing for 3 hours. Every person in the church will clap and sing and jump for joy like it was the last day on earth.

2.     No matter how uncomfortable a church service will be, whether it is because of the weather, or the seating, or even the language barrier, everyone will continue to praise God.

3.     No matter the circumstance of each individual, people will praise God.

Each and every Sunday I find these 3 points the most compelling. As I was reflecting on this, I have realized I have taken my church for granted on a regular basis. So often I arrive at church late, and sometimes even complain about going to church because I’m too tired. Today it really struck me how privileged I am to be able to got to a church that makes me feel so comfortable.

After church we spent an hour or so with the community enjoying a muffin and soda together. It was awesome to see the kids with a bottle of soft drink in their hands and a stale muffin smiling like it was Christmas. Again, how privileged am I?

After Church we ended up going into town and spending an hour looking around and having lunch. I ended up catching a boda with a guy, who unbelievable charged me 1000 shillings (35 cents) even though I took him through town 15 times. I was so taken back that I ended up asking if he was hungry and we ended up having lunch together. It was awesome moment seeing this guy (Paul) enjoying goat stew, a meal that he would only enjoy once a year. He asked me if I wanted to meet his family and kids and spend the night at his house watching the world cup, and although I couldn’t, it was an awesome experience to see how grateful he was having a lunch that each of us would have each day.

We then left town to go the source of the Nile. This was an awesome time for the team to see Uganda in its fullest. We travelled down the river Nile on a boat and saw some of the countries finest nature and animals. I can proudly say the I walked on the Nile !

The team ended up at 'All Friends', we enjoyed an awesome dinner together. Classic moment to see the fairer girls attempt to eat a “mild” chicken curry. Oh their red cheek’s.

I have to go now, the world cup is on, but I’m sure we will have something up for you to read tomorrow.     Daniel!!    

Packing out the church..

A song by the young girls

Sodas and cakes for everyone..  spesh!!

The 'A' team at the source..

On the Island

All Aboard!!!

Dinner time..  hmm.. what to eat!

After an extra early start to another beautiful morning in Africa, the team set out to climb monkey mountain and watch the sunrise over the Ugandan horizon.  Although a little cloudy, we sat in awe of God’s creativity, as we watched the colors of the morning paint the African sky and we praised our King with united voices, as well as Grant’s fantastic guitar skills. Once all photos were taken, we headed back to Suubi House where a warm breakfast awaited us (the usual: delicious rollexs with fresh pineapple and banana). Kase then led us in our daily devotions, teaching us the importance of family and God’s intention for us to love others as He loved us.

We spent the morning working further on the house – which is now more than half done and looking fantestic, as Tiff would say! It’s always such a privilege to work with the Ugandan builders. We laugh together, share stories, they teach us a few phrases in Luganda and recently we even have majenga fights together.  It makes the work not really feel like work at all! It’s also really exciting to stop and think that these four walls will house eight orphans and a widow some day!

Once building and lunch were finished, 16 of us squished into the old bus and headed off with anticipation to visit the people in the Kikaramoja slums for the afternoon. I think we were all quite expectant to see how life really is there, and overwhelmed by what we saw. After splitting off into small groups of four (consisting of three team members and a translator, who were girls from the Village of Hope), we visited three homes and gave each home a small gift: a kilo of sugar and some laundry soap. Although they really appreciated this gift, we couldn’t help but feel like we wanted to give more.

During our visits to the three different houses, we were all touched, horrified and impacted in different ways. The desperation in the slums was heartbreaking. The kids were desperate for love, hanging off every part of us they possibly could, fighting for our attention. The mothers and grandmothers of the homes were so desperate to provide for their children with the little resources available to them. One grandmother was making necklaces from paper-beads, although her income didn’t cover the price she paid to buy the materials. Another mother had no food at all for her son, and still another had no milk to feed her newly born baby. Two of the three families had insufficient funds to send their children to school. One mother was so desperate that she even asked one of us to take her baby, to provide the baby with a better future. It’s bitterly distressing to see such desperation. And seeing the unbelievable suffering, we were desperate to help, yet felt helpless. There is so much need, so much suffering and so much desperation: it was hard to comprehend how they had so little when we were blessed with so much. A major realization to me was that the only thing separating me from the malnutritioned child before me was geography: I was born in Australia and she was born in the slums of Uganda. However helpless we felt, we prayed with each family and spoke words of encouragement over their lives and blessings over their homes. We prayed in faith, not in fear, for each child in that slum was born with a purpose and however shocking their circumstances were, I personally had to believe that God has not forsaken them.

We may not have been able to save the 10 thousand people living in the slums, but one thing that was really encouraging to reflect upon was the fact that 80 of those children have already been rescued from the slums. 80 of those beautiful children now live with a family in the Village of Hope and have better prospects for the future. God is always calling those who have much to help those who have little, and I pray and believe that God’s work in Uganda is far from over!! What a privilege it is to be a part of this work here in this beautiful place. - Anna

What a team???

Also, sorry for the extremely long post!  There are plenty of pics below...

Awesome builderers!!

One of about 50 funny face shots!

Lucky and her crew!!

2 very photogenic kids..

Tiff, in her element

giving gifts to the mothers in the slums..

Praying for the family

DAY 6 (I think, but time seems to work differently here)

The schedule on the wall suggested it was work in the morning and again in the afternoon. Everyone was up and raring to go. Our wonderful cooks cooked up pancakes for breakfast and this along with the mandatory pineapple and bananas prepared us up for a solid mornings work. To top this off Ashlee  suggested we all think of something that challenged or blessed us so far.  Between us we had quite a few different things to share. 

Then it was off to the work site. Majenga mixer running flat out, brick throwing chain in action, barrows running hot bringing more soil for Majenga and Sue and I on window manufacturing. Sue is a real gun on the angle grinder and considering it as possible career change (maybe not). Morning tea was welcome and then back into it. The brick layers were running hot which put a lot of pressure on the window factory. 

A good break for lunch came and went to quickly. We had changed the menu around so we had rolexes, chappaties and some of the cooks special bread for lunch. Back at the work site work progressed rapidly, scaffold was erected and the first windows went in. Dani showed her prowess with a mowing blade. Obviously a latent skill awaiting release. Later in the afternoon the tiredness kicked and a little silliness accompanied it. The first real muchanga fight ensued although I'm sure they brickies will be able to do better at it in the future. 

As I write this Julliette is adding the finishing touches to dinner which appears to be a fritita to match the best

That's all for now folks, have a look at the pics...       Stan..

                                             

We don't negotiate with terrorists!!

Getting those windows welded..

Danile framed (or flamed!)

Scaffold is up!!

Check those abs!!!

 

Mowing the lawn..

Scaffold builders..  we've got the right ticket!! 

Majenga missile loaded and firing!

Totally unaware of the incoming missile!!!

Just a heads up, little bit of a disclaimer, this is going to be a long one ‘cause it’s pretty close to my heart sooo, soz.

We had the classic breakfast of chapatti, rollexs & pineapple again this morning on the roof. Tiff led devotions and shared a bit about what God is doing through her this trip compared to her last trip to Uganda, and followed with the words Moses used when speaking to the Israelites in being still and trusting in God’s deliverance.

We headed down to the village and continued with our building. We’ve reached the levels of the windows, and it’s crazy to think a few days ago we we’re looking at an empty concrete slab. As hot & hard as work can get, we are all reminded that when we are finished, 8 beautiful children and a widow will be rescued from their dire circumstances and given a loving home – motivation to go forever!

Our afternoon was spent at the Home of Hope – a home for disabled children. In Uganda, giving birth to a child with a disability is seen as a curse, a sign of witchcraft or sin, and you and your child are culled from your family and community and left on your own. Edith, the founder of Home of Hope lived this exact scenario when she gave birth to her son Derek and a few weeks later discovered he had cerebral palsy. She didn’t want to accept the diagnosis and travelled to many doctors for an answer she preferred. One doctor diagnosed Derek with meningitis and treated him accordingly, which caused severe mental disability in this precious boy. During this time that she was struggling with what was culturally seen as a curse, she received no support, comfort or love from her family, only from an old couple that came and visited her and prayed for her, and this showed her the love of Jesus and led her to salvation. In the next few years, God put it on her heart to take in these children, care for them and love them and He will provide the rest. There is so much that took place in the next few years including a severe car crash that left her with a diagnosis of never walking again, and Jesus total healing her, but it all brought her to where she is today – in the new house with 35 beautiful children and many faithful staff.

When we first got there today we were greeted by these children and then given a tour and Edith told us her amazing story. Then we put all the kids in wheel chairs, except those that were quadriplegic and couldn’t sit up in a chair, and took them for a walk down the road – which was such an exciting time for them and we were proud to be the ‘mzungus’ (white people) walking and holding the disabled children. When we got home we put them all in the play room and played some music and it was beautiful because every single child, even the completely disabled kids, had a massive smile on their face. We danced for the next few hours with them and held them and just showed them the love they deserve.

Coming home we had a shower (to get rid of the pee that covered most of us haha) and then met together to chat and sort through our emotions. It was so interesting to hear 13 different experiences and emotions, but one thing that came out is that we were all inspired. Inspired to be people like Edith, encouraged to have open hearts to God’s calling for us, and determined to be obedient to His call.

Sorry that this is SO long but there is no way you can do the Home of Hope justice with out hearing it all.

Check out just 'some' of todays pics..                           Kase Prins x

...you put your left foot in....

Nearly can't reach or see each other anymore...

I am THE ultimate builder..

Hi!!!  I'm soooo happy you guys are here!!

Time to walk...

Tony & Daniel = buddies!